Tales of Red Rose Mansion a story of the gifted
by screaming Iloveyouso
Summary: Six psychically gifted teens spend a year at a boarding school dedicated to the research and developement of the paranormal but they all just wish to live normal lives. Is it even possible?
1. Chapter 1Red Rose Mansion

Chapter One

As the taxicab pulled into the driveway of a large mansion, Dereth was somewhat suspicious. He suddenly realized he was way out of his league here, the fact made far more apparent by the large, looming structure ahead. Even though he was sure most of the other teenagers here would be all-American rich kids living off Mommy and Daddy's money, he knew that they would not only know about his powers, but would have some of their own, making them a threat. A threat he had never dealt with before. He would have to be on his guard the entire time he was here- and he was sure that would not be for long.

Dereth Woods was psychokinetic, and more specifically, telekinetic. He could move things merely by concentrating on them- something that had always come in handy during a seedy situation on the streets of New York. He remembered the first time he realized he was different. He had been nine years old, and had only been homeless for a matter of weeks. A newbie, weak and pathetic, Perfect prey for the older, more experienced boys who had chosen to make their homes in the Devil's lot. He coldly recalled their vile, raunchy faces as they circled around him, threatening him into giving up his coat- the last thing his mother had given him before she had died-and the only thing between his body and the icy winter air. Those same faces contorting in horror as first one, then still more, stones from behind the speciously harmless boy began flying at them, apparently of their own volition. They had fled, like cowards, and, over the years, Dereth had slowly learned to control his powers, and use them to his advantage against a cruel world.

Dereth pushed the memory away from him- he remembered one of the rules he had learned on the street: Never let the sentimental shit make you weak. The past didn't matter. All that mattered was now, and now was the warm bed that he would have here at this place for at least a couple nights, and then he would move on.

He stalked up the path towards the gargantuan gothic-style door at the front of the building, shouldering the small pack that held his few belongings. He stopped as he saw a short, thirty-ish woman standing in the stoop, apparently waiting for him. Her hair was a dark brunette, and when the sun hit from the right angle, shimmering blonde highlights caught the light, giving the impression of a golden halo that summoned the gold flecks in her hazel eyes perfectly. "Hello, Dereth." Her voice was kind, and had a slight British sound to it. She smiled. "I'm Elizabeth Nightingale. I'm one of your instructors."

He let a small chasm of silence form after her words as he thought of what he was going to say next. Her discernable friendliness had thrown him off; he was used to the harsh words of the ghetto.

"How'd you know my name?" He replied carefully. "Oh, yeah. That psychic shit, right?" Sarcastically, he tapped the side of his head with his index finger, as if to say, _right. Okay, I'll play your game. _

Elizabeth frowned. "We'll talk about all of that at the orientation this evening, after the other two arrive. Until then, you can walk around the mansion and grounds, you know, get acquainted with the place. There are already three students who have been here for a few weeks, maybe you could talk with a few of them." A look from Dereth told her that would definitely not be the case. "I'll take your bag, if you want." As her long, graceful fingers reached for the backpack, he suddenly jerked back. Someone was trying to take _his things. _His hard childhood had trained him never to leave his stuff with other people, especially people he didn't know. "I'll take it with me," He scowled to the floor, and entered the marble doors, noticing a large copper sign declaring the name of the mansion. He struggled to sound out the words- _Red Rose Manor. _He sighed. Only a person with money would name a house.

Not long after Dereth entered the building, he detected a soft music emanating from some unknown part of the dwelling. Curious to know where the sonorous noise was coming from, He fallowed its waves and arpeggios like a dog might fallow the scent of a rabbit. The sound led him into a large sunroom, containing dozens of musical instruments, ranging from an artfully placed grand piano to a couple electric guitars propped against a fireplace. The oddest addition to the room, however, was a statuesque girl playing an ancient-looking folk harp in the corner farthest from him. She smiled slightly as she saw him, and seemed to exude a radiant light. Dereth ignored her smile and quickly walked out the door nearest him, which led out to what seemed like a garden. It took him a moment to notice that he was not alone.

She was sitting on a bench, and was dressed very eclectically. Sitting straight up, long, raven hair falling about mid-back, she sported a pair of sunglasses, even in the already dying sunlight, but that was not what Dereth found disconcerting about her. He struggled to find a reason for this, finally settling on the way her face seemed to be turned away from him.

" I'm Gabrielle Thompson. You're one of the newbies, right?" Her voice was sad and melodic, and Dereth decided to answer without sarcasm this time.

"Yeah, I guess I am." He waited for her response.

"You're nervous, aren't you?"

Dereth was not expecting anything like this. He found it made him angry for her to say this, partly, because it was true.

"Let me guess: you read my mind." He shot back defensively, rising to her challenge. She laughed.

"I had no need. We've all been there. Scared, alone, confused."

Dereth didn't like the way she said exactly the feelings he was trying to hide from himself. He wasn't here to join any support group and go around the circle, each person relaying their goddamn feelings. He was here for a good nights sleep, and then he would be gone.

"Maybe you think you're better than me because I'm black. Yeah, I'll bet that's exactly what you were thinking."

Dereth Woods was no fool. It was a tactic he had used several times before, to ward off confrontation. White people, especially _rich _white people, would do almost anything to avoid talking about the color of his skin. He used this to his advantage now, so the girl would leave him alone. She would avoid him for the rest of his stay, if he were lucky.

"Oh, do you?" The amusement in her voice surprised Dereth. She traced the intricate design etched into the marble bench for a moment, then slowly lifted her hand towards her face and removed her sunglasses. A snide reply formed on Dereths lips, but he felt the words catch in his throat as she turned her face towards him.

"Awww, shit," He cursed. Even in the fading light, the murky gray clouds formed over the girl's sightless eyes were noticeable. Cataracts. Gabrielle Thompson was blind.

Elizabeth Nightingale led the two newest arrivals into the front doorway of Red Rose Manor. Jenny Bathes and Amanda Argent, both age fourteen, seemed to be total opposites. Jenny was loose and friendly, taking almost everything at face value, while Amanda carried an air of reservation and maturity far beyond her few years. Despite this, however, the girls seemed to be coming along swimmingly, their relationship complimented by their differences. Elizabeth had hoped friendships would be formed between all the tenants, and this seemed to put favor in that possibility.

Elizabeth was young-only twenty-seven- and had been working with children and teens ever since she had started a baby-sitting business in the seventh grade. She had always possessed and interest in psychic phenomena, and read books on the subject in her spare time, but had never considered the possibility that she might have special powers- that is, until she was approached by a strange man at a teachers convention in Phoenix.

She grinned; now, at the thought of her colleague, Dr. Edward Spear, and the plan he had presented to her then, the plan that was now well underway.

Her thoughts were interrupted when Amanda, obviously the more intellectual one, asked, "When was the mansion built?" With a wave of her hand, she motioned at the medieval gothic splendor that encompassed them, seeming to transport them in time to fourteenth century France.

"The late 1800's. The gothic revival theme was very popular in America then. Except for the dorms and recreational areas, most of the furniture and décor was here when the current owner purchased the place five years ago. We think it's quite charming."

"Yeah, Yeah- if you like dust and that sort of thing. You guys really need to get some light in here. Or are there vampires among our number, too?" She laughed at her own pun. Later, during happier times, perhaps her companions would have guffawed good-naturedly, but now the ability was far beyond them. Everyone was nervous, even Elizabeth. Instead, they smiled somewhat genuine, if weak, smiles as they walked slowly out of grandiose sitting room, and into a rec room lined with computer terminals.

"The computer room," Elizabeth titled. The change in atmosphere was more than a little disconcerting. It was as if by some magical time machine, they had again been transported through the ages.

"Whoa, high-tech," Jenny deemed with appreciation at the flat-screen, plasma computers.

"They were a donation made by a very generous, very- _anonymous_ individual. This is where you will come to do any research or school work involving computers." She quickly steered the conversation away from the supplier of the terminals, for at the mention of the giver, a slight light glinted from deep within Amanda's eyes. She didn't want to let on that she knew little more than the students themselves. Everyone was kept in the dark in these matters, and Dr. Spear, though cautious, knew the chance of funding for a program of this nature was minimal. Sometimes you had to take what you could get.

"The door over to the left is the entry into the west wing, where some of the dorms are located. There are four wings on the complex –North, South, East, and West- and a set of Dorms are located in each. The North wing is for administrators, and so far, there are two students to every other wing. I believe both of you have rooms in the South wing." At this, the girls exchanged mischievous glances. It was in times like this that Elizabeth wished her psyche had developed telepathy, the ability to read minds, instead of Manipulation & Clairvoyance- the ability to see things that cannot, sometimes _should _not, be seen. She made a soft soughing sound. What were they thinking?

Gabrielle Thompson had lived in darkness since the tender age of three; almost as far back as she could remember. All of the doctors she had seen agreed about the cause: The loss of eyesight was a result of looking directly into the sun for a lengthened period of time. Though she could not ever remember doing this, or even being that dense, She tended to think that at that moment, she had fulfilled the 'light' quota for her lifetime, and the universe would never allow her anymore. She basically had forgotten what light was; all that was known to her was an endless night. She knew light was the opposite of that night, but she could not conjure the difference in her mind. She needed a comparison, something to relate it too, and she did not possess this. All she could remember, from the few months or so before she went completely sightless, and vision was but a diminishing blur, was that it hurt. So now she almost preferred the threatening blackness that closed in at every angle. Almost.

As she waited for an intelligible response from the boy standing just opposite of her, Gabrielle fingered the carved handle of her wooden walking cane, feeling the rough spots where her grip had worn away the smooth finish. So many times had she done this that the indented pattern was as familiar to her fingers as her glasses where to her face, and that was definitely saying something. Her glasses were her security blanket, her protection. If she couldn't see other people, then she would be damned if they would see her- or at least any part of her where she could help it.

_Clip-Clap, Clip-Clap, Clip-Clap…_

It was a sound that Gabrielle identified with Elizabeth Nightingale. Many times, the teacher had attempted to startle Gabrielle by sneaking up behind her, an endeavor that, so far, was unsuccessful. _When will she learn, _she mused, _Too not wear clogs around a blind person? _Gabrielle's thoughts were interrupted with the realization that Elizabeth was not alone. No, she detected the slight sound of giggling beside her. At least two adolescent girls. Almost definitely two, actually, since she knew there were three new arrivals, and of course, she had already met one, she ratiocinated. In her two weeks at the mansion, she had never known anyone other then students or instructors to actually be inside the mansion, and so far, she had not been permitted outside. It was completely fine with her- she had serious problems with the majority of humanity.

"Gabrielle, Dereth, the orientation is going to begin in the sitting room in fifteen minutes, if you wouldn't mind making an appearance. I've already sent Angel, and I believe Ken's in there right already." Elizabeth. She was easy to identify, because of her accent.

With a slight flourish, Gabrielle extended her walking stick, and stood up.

"Meet you there," she said over her shoulder as she walked the direction that the threesome had come from, towards the music room.

_Tap-tap, Tap-tap, Tap-tap…._ The shoe-clicks attached to her soles iterated. The sonorous sound of the taps hit the walls, resounding back to her ears, giving her a relative idea of where walls, doorways, and other large objects were located. She really didn't need the extra help; she had had the 106-step trek from the garden to the sitting room memorized since the first time she had made the walk, with Dr. Spear there to guide her, two weeks ago.

She grinned passively at the circumstances of her own arrival, and the conditions of her being there.

_Click-Click-Click-Click… _It was the sound of canine nails on a hard floor.

She reached out until her hands made contact with a soft, furry animal- Seth, her Seeing Eye dog. Condition number one. There was no way in hell that her parents would have ever let her travel from the outskirts of Washington D.C. to Chicago Illinois, to go to 'Psychic School', none the less, unless Dr. Spear had allowed the dog to come too. Dr. Spear conceded, much to her parents' horror. They still saw her as a poor, disabled blind girl.

She ruffled the hair on Seth's head lightly, breathing in his slight doggy-smell, and he whimpered in appreciation. Seth was a good seeing-eye dog. When his harness was on, he realized it was 'work' time. When it was off, like now, he was a playful puppy- and he was a playful puppy much more often then her parents would have liked, and she wouldn't have it any other way.

"Come on, boy," She cooed, "Want to go to the meeting with me?" His hot tongue licked her fingers in affirmation.

"Alright, come on," together, they proceeded to the sitting room. For once, she was glad. At least for a short while, she was not alone in the darkness.

Edward Spear sat in a large, squishy armchair near the crackling fireplace, surveying the scene that was beginning to lie out before him. Five of the six currently residing students of the Spear Institution were already assembled there, and Angel was most certainly on her way. For now, Edward inconspicuously studied the five students who were present- Gabrielle Thompson, Dereth Woods, Ken Rodgers, Jenny Bathe, and Amanda Argent- and they were undoubtedly studying him. The new arrivals were especially wary. They had no idea what to make of the stout man with graying hair seated before them- but he knew just what to make of them. A psychologist by choice and nature, Edward was marvelous at delving into people's characters and analyzing them, and his psyche was but a mere tool in the process. So far, he had intricately placed characteristics to each face that lay before him:

Ken Rodgers, at 16, was the oldest of all the students staying in the dorms. A definite All-American, star-of-the-football-team type, Ken was of the polo-shirt wearing crowd. The Dr. could see him acting as a sort of big brother to all the new arrivals.

He watched the light from the fire flicker over Ken's pretty-boy face. Ken approached Dereth Woods, and Edward laughed slightly to himself, as Dereth shot Ken a 100 virgin arsenic look, meant to kill, not maim. Ken steered away towards the two new girls. _Wise choice, _Thought Edward.

He turned his concentration towards a rather surly-looking Dereth, Whose face held an expression of pained boredom and uninterest. A feigned look, Edward was more than certain. Always suspicious and accusing, Dereth was taking every precaution possible to not be vulnerable to attack. Edward had seen it many times over when he had been a psychologist for troubled teenagers. He grinned, inwardly, at the realization of just how much information people give away when they disconnect themselves from others. Actions always spoke louder then words.

His gaze turned now to the morose figure sitting opposite of Dereth. Dark and artsy, Gabrielle Thompson was just the type to write depressed poetry and stories. Gabrielle had the rare ability to see deep within people, tell what they were thinking, what they were feeling, even without her empathic gifts. She ran her hands lovingly over the silky coat of the Golden Retriever parked languorously at her feet. _Oh, Seth, _Thought the Doctor, _You have no idea how much you mean to her. _

And then there were the two girls, Amanda and Jenny, giggling at the hearth of the fire, talking to Ken. Teenagers. Ed needn't think more.

Angel took this moment to make her entrance on the meeting. Tall and waif-like, She cloaked her body entirely in white clothing, making the point of her namesake. Her pale face shone with a radiant light, almost like that of a waxing moon reflecting off of a calm lake at midnight. Her motions were willowy and delicate, yet quick, in a graceful way. She was a Sylph, if the good Doctor had ever saw one, and he was sure no one who had ever seen her would disagree with him. But now it was time to get down to business.

"Now that you are all present, I think we can start the orientation." He nodded towards Elizabeth, who, before had been talking animatedly with the girls about one thing or another, quickly joined him at the front of the room.

"You're probably wondering what this is all about, how it all was started." He paused for a moment as he rose from the armchair, and continued. "When I was a young boy, around your age, strange things would happen to me, as if I was being stalked by some unseen force determined to make my life miserable. I would have a dream, and days, months, even _years _later the dream would actually take place in waking life. I would predict things before they would happen. After awhile, I was always scared that anything I might think or dream about would come true. I was quite a nervous boy." He smiled wryly at the faces staring back at him, giving him their entire, undivided attention. Even Dereth, who was still trying to keep an air of aloofness, seemed interested.

"Throughout much of this, I began wondering if there were others out there, others with such abilities as mine, or if I was, like my family believed, a freak." He stopped for a moment, allowing that notion to sink in. From the quick intake of breath from almost everyone in the room, he knew it was a thought they had often pondered.

"I began reading- doing research on anything paranormal. I came to find that many others existed, and some of them had become quite famous –Uri Geller, Edward Cayce, etc., but there was no society, or group, where we could all meet. I wanted desperately to be with people who would understand." He did not hesitate to say the last sentence, if everything went as planned, in a few months, they would have known anyway.

"So a few years ago, I decided to try to start such a group. First, starting with the next generation-You. This is a group where no one would be a misfit, a freak. Everyone will be the same. Talking about our gifts, our curses, is _not _a taboo here." He finished with a conviction that almost betrayed his attachment to the point. These children would never feel like an outcast again, not if he could help it. He sank back into his chair, and Elizabeth stepped forward.

"If all of you would introduce yourself to the group, tell why you're here, where you were before you came here, oh, and, anything else you might like to add." Five heads bobbed up and down in compliance, with one shrug-supplied by Dereth, of course. "Spiffing. I'll go first. My name is Elizabeth Nightingale. Before I came here, I was a middle-school counselor for delinquent children." Her gaze met Dereths, with a warning glance, and his eyes quickly turned away. "Unlike you, my powers never revealed themselves during my adolescence, or even my adult life. I probably wouldn't have known I had them if I hadn't met Dr. Spear at the education conference in Phoenix two years ago."

"What are your powers?"

"Pardon?"

"What type of psychic power do you have?" Amanda, the resident analyst, of course.

"Um, manipulation. Gabrielle, can I borrow Seth for a moment?" Gabrielle nodded, and Seth, hearing the sound of his own name, walked slowly forward toward Elizabeth. She patted him on the head, and gazed into his eyes for a moment, and then he ran nimbly from the room.

"Where's he going?" Asked Gabrielle. She could feel the tension in the room, felt it pounding through her veins, and Seth was her security blanket.

"I told him to go find my copy of _Gone with the Wind,_ he'll be right back,"

No sooner had the words escaped her mouth than Seth galloped back into the room- a heavy, weathered book clutched firmly in his jowls. Elizabeth took it from him, and he collapsed at Gabrielle's feet. "Good boy." She praised softly.

"Humans are more difficult," Elizabeth clarified, "But I don't mess around with free will, anyway. Would anyone else like to go next?"

Dereth quickly gathered his wits. Up until this point, he had truly believed that this was just a game- no one there beside himself of course, could possibly have any powers. He had never knowingly met anyone like him before, and now he was just supposed to believe that seven of them just popped up from nowhere on the same day? It was unbelievable, not to mention dangerous. He was no longer sure he held the ace here.

He was careful not to let anyone notice how much attention he was paying to what was going on in the room, or about how much it unnerved him. Then he had a crazy thought: _What if they can read my mind? _He shook his head. He must not lose his cool about this.

He watched with increasing surrealism as each person stood and told the bare minimum of who they were and why they were here. He learned that Ken and Amanda were both telepathic and clairvoyant, which might explain why the girl, Amanda, seemed to know everything. He bristled slightly when Jenny rose and stated that she was telekinetic- but her impish grin put him more at ease.

Then Gabrielle stood to take her turn. Dereths gaze was attentive as he took in how, even though she was facing his direction, she seemed to be watching something far away, something he, nor anyone else for that matter, would ever witness. In her clear, melodious voice, she stated that she was naturally empathic-she could feel the emotions of others- and that she was a telepath. Then she sat down, giving the golden-haired dog a quick pat on the head, and waited. Dereth stood.

"Dereth Woods. Telekinesis." He sat down quickly, waiting for a reprimand, but none came. Instead, Elizabeth Nightingale turned to the one person in the room who had not yet spoken.

The Sylph stepped forward. "You may call me Angel," Her singsong voice was calming and peaceful. "That is not my real name. Before I came here, I lived on the streets of Chicago." Her lovely, angelic face darkened at the words, and Dereth Woods gasped. "My power is energy manipulation, and I can sense auras." She stopped.

"Care to give them a demonstration?" Elizabeth suggested.

At first, Angel looked confused, and then her face took on a knowing look. She floated over to the fire. With an intent stare, she gazed into the flames, seeming to go into a trance. Her eyes were vacant, and the three newcomers exchanged questioning glances.

For five long minutes, they all sat that way, watching Angel watch the fire; even Seth was still- for he possessed the extra sense that all canines had, and knew something special was happening.

The air immediately behind Angel's upper back flickered like heat waves over a sweltering highway in August. The fire began to recede, and the flickering on her back grew more pronounced, until it had appeared that fire was sprouting there, its long, feather-like fingers licking her shoulders, and spreading to the floor. The fire gave one last attempt at life, until all that was left were a few glowing embers. She turned to face them, while the fire-wings on her back spread out to their full span of about six feet. She waited for a reply.

The room was silent for a moment, its occupants staring dumbly- again, with the exception of Gabrielle, who could not see the wings, but could feel their energy-, aghast at what they were seeing. All it took was one "Holy-shit," from Dereth for the room to erupt with talking and jabbering.

Angel accepted the din surrounding the way she accepted everything- without question. She knew that her differences would be met with nervousness, fear; sometimes even violence- none of it was new to her. Some might ask her how she was capable of staying so peaceful and serene, but she would return their questions with a blank stare. She believed her abilities were a gift from god- that is why her aura around her back held the shape of wings. She had always felt them there, and known they were a part of her soul, if not a part of her body.

"How-what? No way," Amanda managed to sputter.

Angel smiled briefly, and then took a seat in the armchair opposite Dr. Spear- closer to the group then Gabrielle, but still not quite there. She would not invite her own shunning. In the fireplace, the flames quickly rekindled, rising now almost to their previous height, but the igneous wings on the waif's back remained visible, even if they were beginning to fade some. _If I can continue to concentrate enough, _She contemplated, _I can keep them their for the rest of the meeting. _She relinquished the idea as the room quieted. Her attention should be focused entirely on the conversation.

Edward Spear stood to his full height of about 5.10 inches. "What you have just witnessed is a rather impressive example of Energy manipulation. Now, I admit that Angel has had some tutoring outside of these walls, but I can guarantee that you can all reach her level, maybe not in Energy manipulation, but in each of your own categories. We all have our fortes." He smiled jovially at the six students. They returned his look warily. Even the alums seemed unsure now. During the two weeks since his arrival, Ken had become accustomed to the light shows that seemed to fallow Angel around everywhere, and even Gabrielle could feel the energy, but neither had ever experienced anything even remotely like what they had just witnessed.

Edward, sensing their discomfort, quickly ended the meeting. "Perhaps this is too much for all of you at the present moment. Anyway, it is getting late. I think we can adjourn the meeting for one night, and continue it later. You may proceed to your dorm rooms for the night. Remember, if anyone needs anything, I'm always happy to talk."

Dereth fallowed the morose figure ahead of him with growing unease. Apparently, he was sharing the East Wing of the Mansion with Gabrielle Thompson. God obviously had it out for him. Not that he had ever had any doubts about that.

He sighed. He felted uncharacteristic pangs of guilt shoot through his system, something he had not felt for a long time. This made him wary, but then again, how dangerous could a blind girl be? His goal was to not get hurt, not act like an ass. He quickened his pace until his legs were parallel with hers, and they nimbly fell into pace with each other. He listened to the short, punctuating clicks emanating from her shoes as though she were a tap-dancer, each step perfectly fitting into a soft, syncopated rhythm. Seth, always the friendly sort, nuzzled Dereth's hand with his damp nose. Even his nails clicked against the floor rhythmically. Dereth felt clumsy and ungraceful next to the two companions, as though they belonged to an exclusive club that he could never join.

"Hello, Dereth." She soughed. She did not sound angry nor cool, only expectant. He didn't ask how she knew it was he.

"Umm, yeah. I was wondering if you wanted me to walk you to your door."

"Why?" Her voice did not carry an accusation, but it was a question that caught Dereth completely off guard.

"Well…. I mean… oh, shit. You know." He sputtered. "I wanted to apologize for the way I treated you earlier. I mean, I didn't know." He was not certain it was the correct answer, but it was the only one he had. He gesticulated with his arms, shrugging, and then, realizing the gesture held no meaning for her, dropped his hands to his sides.

"You do not want people to judge you from the color of your skin. I do not want people to judge me from the fact that I cannot see." She paused for a moment, as though unsure whether to go on, then said, "I can promise that I will not judge the fact that you are black, if you do not judge the fact that I am blind." She turned her face towards him expectantly, and he knew, even though the glasses blocked her eyes from his sight, that she was not actually looking at him.

He nodded his head yes, then, remembering, said, "Sure."

She smiled sadly, then reached her cane in front of his legs and hit the polished oak frame of a doorway- one that he had missed entirely.

"I believe that is your room," She said this without even a hint of doubtfulness. He looked down at the note card in his hand. In a tiny, precise letters was printed _room 2E. _He shifted his eyes to the plate directly over the doorway, and surly enough, it also read _2E. _The aesthetic tapping of her footsteps faded into the distance, leaving him utterly alone to wonder whether he had actually walked her to her room, or if she, blind though she was, had led him. He shook his head. Nothing would surprise him anymore.

Slowly, he walked through the shadowed doorway. It was more luxurious then he would have guessed; he was used to the stark mattresses of shelters. Even a normal dorm room would have paled in comparison with the lush furnishings that lay before him; Everything made from a glossy Mahogany colored wood, from the Amish-style pullover desk to the tall headboard of the bed frame. There was a small dresser in the corner, and a nightstand on the left side of the bed supported a modern-looking reading lamp that seemed out of place with the rest of the settings. The comforter on the bed was thick and soft looking, and there were even pillowcases on the large, voluminous pillows- and they actually matched!

He took all this in by the moonlight shining through a crack in the curtains. Not bothering to search for the light switch, he paced over to the window and opened them completely. There were no streetlights, buildings, or even cars visible for miles- just the bright waxing moon and the stars. Dereth had never seen so many stars in his life. He beheld the image for a few moments before concentrating his gaze lower. From his new room, he could see acres of sprawling gardens, pathways, and even the bench where he had had that fateful conversation only a few hours before.

He turned away from the window and placed the small satchel that carried all of his worldly belongings on the smooth, blistered surface of the dresser. Without even undressing, he drew back the comforter on the bed and climbed between the clean, crisply white sheets, soon falling into a deep slumber. Maybe he might stick it out here- at least for a little while.


	2. Chapter 2 The City

Chapter Two

Gabrielle woke early in the morning, at the sound of her buzzer. She panicked for a moment, but calmed after realizing where she was. She cursed herself silently, remembering the words her mother had once spoken to her: _You won't be able to survive without Dad and I. I give you two weeks, and you'll be begging us to let you come home. _She reached her hand to the wall directly above her headboard, and fingered the Braille calendar hanging there. She had been at the mansion for exactly two weeks and day. _Take that, Mom, _She crowed internally, _I guess I'm not as weak or helpless as you think I am._ She swung her legs over the side of the bed, and threw off her down blanket. She stood up, jumping slightly as she stepped on something long, thin and furry. Seth yapped with indignation, and hastily pulled his tail out from under her feet.

"Sorry, boy." Seth panted good-naturedly, and licked her outstretched hand as if to say, _Well, it's about time. They've been frying bacon for almost a half an hour! _He circled around her impatiently as she dressed.

Gabrielle made her way precariously down the main staircase, and let the aroma of pancakes, bacon, and eggs fill her senses. She trailed her hand along the curving banister as she counted steps: _27,28,29._

"Morning, Gabrielle." called Elizabeth's voice from the kitchen off to her right, "Do you want your eggs sunny-side up, or poached?"

"Poached, please."

Gabrielle listened carefully as she entered the room. There were already three occupants, not counting Elizabeth. She detected Angel's distinguished manner of breath- slowly breathing in, holding the air in for a moment, and then quickly forcing it out.

"I'll have some more eggs too, please." It was Ken. So then he was in the room, too.

She was pretty sure that the other person was not Dr. Spear or Jenny; Dr. Spear had the curious habit of scraping his fork against his plate as he ate, and from what information Gabrielle had accumulated the day before about Jenny, the girl couldn't keep her mouth shut for more them five seconds. No; it was either Dereth Woods or Amanda Argent. It was most likely Amanda, because she had noted heavy breathing emanating from Dereth's room as she passed it on the way down to the kitchen.

Gabrielle loved the Sunday breakfasts at the mansion. Elizabeth always cooked rich English foods along with normal American classics.

"Here you are, Dear," Mrs. Nightingale said, setting a plate down on the counter. Gabrielle walked over towards the clanking noise, moving her hands along until they came into contact with the plate. There was another thing she loved about Sunday breakfast- they ate in the kitchen instead of the dining room.

They were joined first by Jenny and then by Dereth, who declined Elizabeth's offer of eggs but ate the bacon and pancakes ravenously, and then asked for seconds. The conversation was painfully slow, except for Jenny, who seemed to be trying to talk Ken's ears off. Elizabeth was busying herself with the preparation of what she called 'butter cakes', and the rest of the free world called _scones_ when Dr. Spear came in.

"How are you all this fine morning?" He chorused. No one had ever accused him of a lack of enthusiasm. The room filled briefly with murmurs, grunts, and 'fines', and then quickly quieted down again. After he was handed a plateful of food, he announced that they were going on a tour of the nearby city.

"You children will have to learn the layout of the city if you want to cope when you start your schooling in the fall." He rocked on his feet animatedly, first forwards, then backwards. At one point, Jenny, who was the closest, thought she might have to reach out and catch him- but no- he was balancing himself perfectly.

"So hurry up and finish breakfast- than we will pull out the bus and leave for the city." The kids exchanged glances. Some of them had hardly had enough time to get used to the idea of the mansion- let alone being dragged out into the city. But there was obviously no stopping Dr. Spear once he had an idea. In a matter of minutes, he was already finished with breakfast, and peering at them in the same manner an eager five-year-old might watch his parents while waiting to go to Disney world, and he was constantly moving around. He never stayed in one spot for more than a minute.

All to soon, breakfast was over, and the teenagers, Elizabeth, and even Seth, now wearing his blue vest, climbed into the bus while Dr. Spear climbed into the drivers seat. All of the children, even those who had been at the mansion for two weeks, had been expecting a normal yellow school bus. Instead, they climbed aboard a full-length greyhound bus complete with air conditioning and television sets. Instead of the normal bus slogans or ads that were usually emblazoned across normal inter-city buses, however, was a picture of a giant eye- the emblem of the institute.

Seth leaned against Gabrielle's legs as the engine of the bus began to hum. She was about to take out a Braille book- _A Wrinkle In Time- _when she heard someone sit down next to her. Judging from the heavy breathing, she decided that the person next to her was male. It could not be Ken, she reasoned, because she had heard him talking to Elizabeth from a seat at the front of the bus. That left Dereth.

"Hey," He said cautiously.

"Hey, yourself." Gabrielle replied. "Ever been to the city?"

He thought before responding. "Not Chicago. New York. I grew up in the Bronx." He patted Seth on the head cautiously. The dog seemed docile, but you never knew. He had seen dogs go from friendly to vicious in a matter of seconds, and had never found a distinguishing factor between them and regular canines. Seth must have been ok, though, because he whined with pleasure, rested his head contentedly on Dereth's knee, and sneezed.

"He likes you," Gabrielle said. "He doesn't take to just anybody. Being a seeing-eye dog, he can get pretty protective." She re-adjusted her glasses as she shifted in her seat, and opened her book, as though embarrassed by what she had just said.

Dereth watched her long fingers trace over the tiny, raised dots on the surface of the paper. Her face was fixed in a look of intent concentration.

Dereth broke the silence. "What you reading?"

"_A Wrinkle in Time._ It's very good. A little out there, but very good."

"How can you tell what all of the different letters are from just those bumps? They all look the same to me."

"Well, there's your problem. You can't _look _at them. You have to feel them. Here. Give me your hand." He hesitated before putting his hand into her outstretched palm. She took his fingers and brushed them across the cover of the book. Her skin was soft and smooth, and her touch was light.

"Close your eyes. No cheating. Feel that design there, the one with three dots in the shape of a triangle? That's an 'A'. The one after it is a 'W'. Got that memorized?"

Sheepishly, Dereth admitted that he did not.

"If you really needed or wanted it, you would." He thought about her words for a while. Who was this strange girl he had befriended?

He shook his head. He shouldn't have thought the word 'befriended'. He didn't have any friends. Anyway, why would she want to be a friend to him? She was probably just humoring him. He decided not to say anything for the rest of the drive, and she seemed completely fine with that. She just ran her fingers across the pages of that book; the same indifferent look on her face.

_See? _Dereth's mind told him. He pushed the thought aside. What did it matter, anyway? Through the window, he watched the rolling hills fly past.

Jenny and Amanda were sitting in the back of the bus in the very last row of seats. Amanda watched, interested in spite of herself, as Jenny went through a comedy routine. She was hilarious. She paused at all the right moments, allowing Amanda's boisterous laughter to die down before proceeding to the next joke. Amanda wished she could be like Jenny; Friendly, outgoing, energetic. Instead, she was the seventh-grade geek who would rather stay home and read a book then hang around with people. Oh, no- she was much too self-conscious. Instead, she buried herself in a world of heroes and heroines, where she could be any person she wanted to be, but only for a short while, until she came to the end of the story, and, somewhat mournfully, closed the pages. She was never sad for too long, though- there was always another book.

She smiled. That could be her motto. _There's always another book. _Her attention returned to the girl seated next to her as she ended her act, stood in the wide aisle, and bowed mockingly. Another five star performance.

Outside, the green meadows and farming country quickly transfigured itself into a crowded highway. Amanda checked her watch. 9:00 AM. Lucky it was a Sunday, or they would have had to deal with morning traffic. As it was, the road was crowded with cars, taxicabs, and the occasional limousine.

As they drove under an overpass, Amanda noticed about twenty men in tattered clothing milling around. All were unkempt and dirty. Amanda shivered when she realized they were hobos. One held a sign reading _Wil wurk for food._ So this was how you made a life for yourself in Chicago.

The buildings soon turned from downtown shamble shacks to upscale skyscrapers, apartments, and business buildings. The sun glinted off of the top of a tall office complex, hitting her square in the eyes, blinding her temporarily. She jolted out of her trance as the jolly voice of Dr. Spear came on the intercom.

"Our first stop will be the Museum of Natural History. Then we will stop for lunch, and head back to the mansion."

Dereth scowled as the bus pulled in front of a large, impressive-looking building draped in banners proclaiming things like six million year old dinosaur bones, or Mummies found in Ancient Egypt. Carved over the large stoop, which was fashioned after the Roman Parthenon, were the words _Smithsonian Institution of Natural History._

He remembered the days when he had mocked such school groups going to places like this. If only his friends could see him now, he thought. At least they weren't wearing uniforms. He pawed the hooded sweatshirt he found in the dresser drawers that morning. He wondered if everyone staying at the mansion was given new clothes, or if his case was special, and they knew he would need them because of his 'situation.' All adults who had ever known he was homeless referred to it as his 'situation.'

After everyone had gotten off of the mighty greyhound, they were shepherded through a small back door by a large, surly looking woman wearing a wrinkled blue uniform. She wore a small identification card that said her name was Clarita Loams. Clarita did not small as she herded them in with what looked like day-care center groups.

Dereth almost laughed as he watched Elizabeth going practically insane trying to keep their group together. When they were through the doors, she began counting heads.

"Ken, Gabrielle, Angel, Amanda, Dereth-" She patted each of them on the head before looking around. "Where's Jenny? Jenny?" Dereth realized that this woman actually _cared _about them. He felt sort of sorry for her as she frantically turned her head in search of the missing girl.

Suddenly, Jenny popped out from behind Elizabeth, obviously enjoying the commotion she had caused. "Here, I am," She chorused innocently. Elizabeth looked so relieved that Jenny was all right that she did not reprimand her.

"Of course, dear," was all she said.

Mr. Spear and Elizabeth allowed them to form into two groups of three. Jenny and Amanda immediately stood by each other, and Ken stood next to them. The other three did not move at all, but the groups had still been formed by default. Dereth thought of how strange it was that Amanda, Jenny, and Ken seemed to be the most normal, or the least abnormal, and they automatically formed into a group. From what he had heard, this was the type of thing that Dr. Spear and Elizabeth had started the institution for- so no one would ever have to feel left out again. He wondered if such a thing was inevitable. It was written all over history- slavery, the holocaust, most wars- the stronger group would always attempt to kill or maim the weaker group. It was a basic survival instinct; one he had been a part of a thousand times.

Elizabeth took the 'normal' group, while Dr. Spear went with the others. Edward seemed thrilled to be able to walk through the exhibits, but his enthusiasm was met with bleak stares. Angel smiled politely and tried to feign an interest, but it was obvious- especially to Gabrielle, the resident empathic- that she was putting on a show so as not to injure his feelings. Gabrielle and Seth walked to the side of the group, and Dereth pretended to be off by himself, though he never strayed far from their path. Yet Edward remained happily oblivious to the fact that he was the only one who desired to be there at all.

They walked through several exhibits, the majority centering on Dinosaur bones, fossils, and ancient cultures.

They stopped in a large room filled with hundreds of tiny crystals that were connected together with beautiful precision. Hung from the rafters of the ceiling, the lustrous pieces of glass seemed to glow and take on an almost ethereal light, Changing from first a translucent icy-pink color to reflective blues and purples as the observer walked around it. The clouds outside shifted, and a sunbeam shone down from a skylight built into the ceiling. The glass sculpture glistened with a million different hues, and each fragment reflected light onto its neighbor, until a beautiful design of luminosity twirled on the blank walls. Everyone walked towards the large plaque on the wall.

Aurora

Built in the 1950's by an artist who wishes to remain anonymous, the aurora sculpture is one of the prized gems of the Smithsonian institution. It has been mathematically plotted so that no two views of the sculpture will be the same from anywhere on the musical staircase. It was made from several different types of crystal, including obsidian, quartz, glass, and sapphire.

Gabrielle Thompson leaned lightly against the wall closest to the group. She listened as Dr. Spear chortled merrily about light, colors, and the sun, and reasoned the exhibit they were in must be rather impressive. She also knew none of it would ever mean anything for her-especially light and color. Sometimes she imagined that she remembered light from when she was very little, but she could never be sure, and the only color she knew was the deep black which held the light from her eyes. The sun, at least, meant warmth against her skin.

Seth leaned on her leg. She patted him briefly on his furry head, and held firmly to his leash. She could hear her companions' voices moving away in the distance, already discarding the glorious image of the light sculpture. She wondered, briefly, if they even knew what they had. She sighed resignedly-what else could she do?- and fallowed their diminishing footsteps.

After they had left the Smithsonian, Elizabeth pulled them over to a small food kiosk, and, her voice full of gaiety, proclaimed that they would be eating from a street vendors-"To get the full experience"- and they could pick anything they fancied.

After buying their food, they walked over to a park-style bench plastered with several ads, all in various stages of decay, and sat down. Amanda, Jenny, and Elizabeth happily discussed a few of the exhibits at the museum, and Dr. Spear listened amusedly. Ken, Angel, and Gabrielle ate in silence. Dereth, however, had been done with his corndog before they had even sat down, and was now observing his current surroundings. He was sure the Ghettos of New York were worse then the Ghettos of Chicago, but you really never did know, and this neighborhood did not seem one of the best the city had to offer. A few hobos and bag ladies wearing multiple layers of dirty, mismatched clothing leaned against the wall adjacent to the bench, and several scantly clad women that he was almost certain were hookers walked the alleys.

None of this mattered to him. He had seen it all in New York. What did catch his attention was the gang of boys sitting in the stoop across the street. Their clothing and faces were smeared with dirt, and their suspicious eyes were hard and cold, watching him warily, as a wounded tiger watches its brethren close in for the kill. _I'm one of them, _He thought suddenly. He didn't belong at the Spear institute any more then Edward and Elizabeth belonged on this street.

He heard the squeal of tires before he saw the car. The car was old, rusted, and unimpressive looking. Then he noticed the hand protruding from the passenger side of the window, its long, graceful fingers curved around something that glinted silver. A gun. It was pointed directly at the bench.

Dereth was not frightened. He had looked death in the face many times before, almost always in identical situations, and had learned to stay calm. There was very little you could do at this point, if that bullet was coming for you.

Three shots rang in slow succession, everything lethargic and languid. He watched Seth going berserk in slow motion, as though he were moving through some gelatinous liquid. The first shot went directly over his head-he found himself thinking how ironic it was that he was going to die by the hand of some stupid gang right after he had gotten himself out- The second shot bounced off the metal pole of the bench- maybe he would finally be with his mother. Then he was overcome with a deep feeling of peace.

His thoughts were interrupted as he realized the third bullet was _not _coming for him, it was going straight for Jenny. A sharp, red-hot jab of anger gripped his chest. It would be fine if he died, he was just a worthless gamin, but this girl had a _home. _She had a mother, a father, and maybe even grandparents. Who were these people to come and take her life away? He knew what he had to do.

He began to concentrate his mind entirely on the bullet. He could feel the energy pushing against the back of the miniscule cartridge, every moment sending it closer and closer to the girl's chest. He thought about imploding the energy of the bullet, making it disappear entirely. That would take too much time-maybe if he could not stop it completely, he could lessen the blow, so that it would not be fatal. He concentrated, harder then he had ever concentrated before, on pushing the energy backwards, forcing it to cancel itself out. At the very last moment, the bullet stopped in midair, and fell into Jenny's lap.

Her mouth was open in horror, but she did not scream- She was silent for perhaps the first time in her life. He could almost see her life flash before her eyes as he was overcome with a terrible exhaustion. He felt as if every single drop of energy in his body had evaporated through his pores. His eyes rolled into the back of his head as his knees crumpled. He fainted clean away.

Gabrielle fought to hold Seth down-the shots had really frightened him- as she felt the limp body laying next to her. She clutched his wrist at a pulse-point, and felt for the tiny rhythm she hoped was still beating in his veins.

Tiptiptiptiptiptip

She felt relief flood into her fingertips. He was alive! She was not sure of what had just happened, but had felt, as she was sure everyone else sitting on the bench had felt, the energy that had been liberally flowing out of Dereth Woods. She then thought about all of how much explaining Dr. Spear would have to do once the police arrived. She could feel the selfishly curious attention of the audience which had quickly accumulated around them pressing in on all sides.

Edward Spear stared at Dereth, as if astonished, for a brief moment before saying, "I believe it is time for us to return to the mansion." His usually jolly voice was shaded with graveness.


	3. Chapter 3 The void

Chapter Three

Odd shapes and geometric figures swam in and out of Dereth's consciousness. They danced and played like forest druids and lyrical fays, changing shape and shifting in a series of brilliant colors, fluidly morphing over and over, never the same thing twice. Dereth tried to grab a hold of the colors, keep them forever, but they were changing so quickly- he could not keep a handle on them.

The picture started to clear, coming more into focus until Dereth realized the colors were bouncing off of many different crystals-millions of them.

_Never the same thing twice, never the same thing twice, Never-_

The lustrous vision was quickly replaced with a different one, less beautiful, but far more comforting. His mother's glorious face filled his being, and he relaxed. Her lips shifted into a ghost of a smile, one he remembered well. Her complexion went from a deep, chocolate brown to a dark gray, as though he were watching a television program on the ancient TV at the homeless shelter, and he realized she was fading. He tried to fallow, but she was someplace he could never be, no matter how he tried. _Mom, don't leave me again…._ Then he was falling into oblivion.

He awoke on the floor of his room at Red Rose Manor, tangled in sheets and blankets. He was wearing new, clean clothes; different from the ones he had been wearing at the Smithsonian. It took him several moments to collect his bearings and realize where he was. He rubbed his elbow, which smarted from breaking his fall. Apparently, he had fallen out of bed.

He groaned and climbed back onto the mattress, startled to find a furry body lying there. Seth yawned as he lifted his head to meet Dereth's eyes as if to say, _Well, finally! _Dereth smiled and patted his head. Though he had met with a few angry guard-dogs in his life, mostly with results he would rather forget, He had decided Seth was all right. He definitely did a good job taking care of the girl, anyway.

A quick visual survey reported that almost nothing had changed about his room since he had left it to go to the museum. Apart from the tray of various breakfast foods on the night table, everything seemed to be in order. The clock hummed as it flashed the time- 10:37-, provoking Dereth to wonder how long he had been out of it. At least over night, but what if days had passed? There was no calendar in the room, but he doubted if that would have helped much anyway. He wondered where everyone was. He wondered if they cared.

He remembered the dream he had been having, and sheepishly found himself longing to return to it. He had not seen his mother in years, did not even have a picture to remember her by, but the image had been so clear, just as he had recalled her before she had passed away. Even now, the images played like a cruel movie in his brain, tormenting him. He wished, vainly, that he could forget.

Seth fallowed him as he left the room. There was only one way to find out how long he had been passed out.

Edward was sitting in the sitting room, his eyes fixed blatantly on an authentic suit of medieval armor, embellished with gold and silver. It was one of his favorite pieces in the mansion, one he had studied for hours, his squat fingers tracing over the delicate carvings on the cuffs while he imagined the knight that had once owned the armor. But today, his brain did not take in its simple splendor. Today, he had things on his mind.

The day before, he had been foolish enough to hope that they had left quietly, and no one would ask questions about why, even though a bullet was heading straight for her heart, Jenny was not dead. He had vainly thought the residents of the alley would forget what they had seen, and go back to there daily lives.

He had been wrong, of course, though the news was not exactly what he had expected. As the six o'clock news clearly stated, the people of the Alley had thought that Dereth, not Jenny, but _Dereth, _had been shot, and reasoning in the only way they could, they believed the small, oddly assembled group of people sitting on the bench was hiding something. Why else would they take away a clearly injured boy who needed medical attention? The police were probably searching for them. Luckily, none of them had ever had their fingerprints recorded. Thank God in heaven for that.

He turned at the sound of Elizabeth's voice. The slight lines around her eyes appeared deeper, and there were shadows under her eyes. "Do you think we should wait a while longer to give the children their first lesson? I mean, after what has happened? Shouldn't we wait for Dereth to recover?"

"No, we can't. I want them capable of entering the Astro-plane by themselves before they begin attending the local school. Anyway, after that display of power we saw yesterday, I think we can assume he would be able to adjust very well."

Edward relaxed his mind and allowed his eyelids to close over his pupils. He was going to check on Dereth, to see how he was doing. Normally, he didn't use his power to evade the minds of others, but this was definitely a special occasion. But he had been disturbed by what he had discovered- flashes of violence, abuse, and above all, the anger- flashes of Dereth's life on the streets. This time however, he was surprised to find Dereth's mind in a perfectly cognitive state. He opened his eyes. He was so ecstatic at this, he almost forgot about the possible endeavor with the police.

"Anyway, I believe our young friend is already awake."

The stone bench, heated by the rising sun, felt warm to Gabrielle's touch. It was the same bench she had been sitting at when Dereth had first entered her life two days before. She had not thought much of him then, but the incident the day before had sparked her curiosity. She had spent the first part of her life believing she was alone in the magnitude of her powers- now she realized she was wrong. She wouldn't admit it to herself, not yet, but she had become quite infatuated with the boy. There was just something about him- the way he talked to her like she was just a regular person, or maybe it was the hard shell he kept himself shrouded in. She was sure it was just an act.

She ran her hands along the metal armrest, where Dereth Woods's hands had possibly rested the day before, searching for something. Not only was Gabrielle empathic and telepathic, but she had advanced psychometric powers as well- when she touched something, the emotions and thoughts of someone who had touched it before were hers.

Ahhh-yes. She felt her body relax as the thoughts and feelings seeped into her very being. She was glad it was relaxing this time. Sometimes, the thoughts and emotions were so fierce, they were unpleasant; a few even caused physical pain. They might have been stronger, if it hadn't been so long since their conversations. Emotions were like scents- they eventually just floated away into space.

The most prominent thing she felt was fear- which was understandable, considering the situation- and desire to hide it. That was probably why he had made the comment about her judging him because he was black. She let the emotions play through in order; now she felt surprise- that must have been the point where she revealed her blindness- and then the flow of emotion ended; he had taken his hand away from the armrest. She did likewise.

She felt somewhat expectant, as though there was still more, something she had missed. She quickly chastised herself, as she realized what she was doing. She didn't know what she had been expecting, perhaps some great view into his character, and now she felt like an idiot. Why was she doing this to herself? No normal boy would ever like her. She was just setting herself up for embarrassment.

_It's not exactly like he's a normal boy, though._ She thought, and then stood up quickly, as though it might allow her to escape her thoughts. Why couldn't she just get used to being alone?

Her unhappy thoughts were interrupted by the sound of footsteps echoing against the walls of the music room. Gabrielle knew it had to be Angel; No one else in the world had so light a step. She sounded like a fairy sneaking across a field blanketed with wildflowers. The thought made Gabrielle smile, in spite of herself.

"Elizabeth says Dr. Edward wants us to go to the East Wing study. I think we are about to have our first lesson." Angel's usually calm voice was edged with excitement, but Gabrielle's reply with apathic and placid: "very well, then."

Angel entered the room with Gabrielle, excited about their first 'lesson'. She had always assumed she was the most advanced at the institute, but after the episode with Dereth the day before, she wasn't entirely sure. She also knew that Gabrielle was immensely powerful as well, but for some unknown reason, didn't enjoy using her powers. _Oh, well, _thought Angel, _Her loss. _

The layout of the room was surprising. She had been expecting the gothic-type chairs that were so typical of the mansion, but instead, the room was furnished with six comfortable looking twin mattresses. On each mattress were soft-blue sheets, but no blankets or comforters. Each one sported a single casing less pillow. It reminded Angel of the yoga classes often broadcast on TV.

At the front of the room was Dr. Spear, sitting in one of two easy chairs. Elizabeth stood next to him, smiling heartily as usual. On four of the five beds sat the other teenagers, most of which, with the exception of Jenny, looked extremely wary of their surroundings.

"What is it?" Asked Gabrielle. "Why are you pausing?"

" There are six mattresses on the floor. No beds or chairs. Just mattresses. Oh, how odd." She paused, and was unable to further describe the settings, because Dr. Spear had addressed her.

"Angel, Gabrielle! We're glad you're here. Isn't this exciting? Angel, if you would kindly escort Gabrielle to one of the remaining beds, it would be quite lovely, thank you."

"Sure thing, Doctor." She walked towards one of the mattresses. She had already learned that Gabrielle did not need Angel to hold her hand to a certain place; she could hear where everyone was moving. Anyway, she doubted if Gabrielle would have allowed anyone to touch her even if she had had the need. It was a very good thing she had such wonderful hearing, or she would have spent a large percentage of her life stumbling around things. But no, Gabrielle walked, almost aesthetically, to the mattress where Angel had indicated.

As soon as Angel had gotten comfy sitting on the side of her own mattress, with her long, spidery legs hanging over the sides, Dr. Spear spoke.

"Children, it is time to begin our first lesson. We don't have very much time, so I'm not going to waste it with unneeded words. Alright?" When No one in the room spoke, which Edward took as acceptance, He continued. "The first thing I must teach you is how to enter the astral-plane. This is actually quite a handy little trick, one in which you create your own little world-inside your mind."

Dereth Woods emitted a snort, but the professor ignored him. "The new world is entirely real, and completely functional. You will feel everything in this world exactly the same as in this world. Some of you" He glanced knowingly at Gabrielle- "May experience it better. You cannot die in this world, but you can become extremely psychically drained, resulting in a coma. So I expect no horsing around when you get there. We've had enough fainting to last a very long time, I assure you. Now, lie down on your mattress. Get good and comfortable. Elizabeth, if you would kindly get the lights? Thank you."

For a minute or so, after the room became dark, there was rustling as the students each moved into a comfortable position. When the noises ceased, Edwards voice sounded from the front of the room.

"Now we'll spend a few moments going into a medative state of mind. Today I will help you, with psychic prompting, but I expect each of you to practice this method before going to sleep at night. When you are all in this state, I will send images of the astral plane to you, and I want you to concentrate on _being _in the world. You'll all know what to do when we get to that point."

They spent the next fifteen minutes trying to enter a medative state. Dr. Spear told them to relax, stop thought entirely, and picture each of their body parts first going completely numb, and then disappearing altogether. The trick, he explained, was to not think so much about it.

Dereth was really trying, but he just couldn't seem to do it. He would get to the point where his legs were gone, but then he would remember what he was doing, and they would just appear again, and thoughts such as _This is stupid_ kept running through his brain, try as he might to quell them.

After a while, he gave up, and instead decided to concentrate on the impeding darkness pressing in on all sides. He thought of it crushing him, blanketing him, he was wrapped in it, as though in a blanket. He found the darkness comforting in a way that light could never be. The darkness, in itself, seemed far safer. After a time, he felt he was not merely surrounded by lightlessness; he _was _the blackness.

He was still swimming contentedly in his own thoughts when several pictures of a dark purple place invaded the blackness. There was so little there, along the lines of furniture or surroundings, that it seemed to be a great void with no beginning or ending. Dereth felt Dr. Spear in his consciousness as he realized that the images were Edward prompting. He wondered briefly why he was being sent these; after all, he had not achieved true meditation, but decided not to worry about it. He focused his attention on the pictures.

At first, they seemed exactly like pictures, as though Dr. Spear had sent him a telepathic postcard. Then they began to move, slowly at first, and he realized the place wasn't entirely void, as he had though earlier, it had great swirls of indigo mist flanking what he perceived to be the floor. The mist looked cool and soft, but somehow heavy. Then he saw a figure, clad all in white, materialize within its depths. He recognized it as Angel. She must have been the first to arrive in the world. Her great wings beat restlessly against her back as she waited for the others to join her.

The postcard suddenly began to take on a 3D edge, as though he was standing on the side of some great clearing, looking in on its inhabitants. He felt his soul lurch, with a slight sensation of falling, as though he was going down the first hill of a roller coaster, and he landed in the dream world.

The ground beneath his knees felt like nothing he had ever experienced on earth. It felt solid, but it had the feeling of something that wasn't supposed to be there, completely nonexistent. He reminded himself that it really wasn't existent, that it only existed in his mind. He tried to touch it with his hands, but found, to his dismay, that even though it held his body up, his hands slipped right through it, as though it were water. It felt like the energy he often manipulated in order to use his powers. Strange.

He looked up then to see Elizabeth standing next to Angel. She seemed completely unperturbed by their surroundings in such a way that Dereth knew this was not the first time she had been here before.

"Dereth! Glad you made it. Doesn't it just give you the heebie-jeebies, being in here? Good thing Edward is going to let us fix it up today."

At the mention of his name, Edward, along with the rest of the students, showed up. Dereth wondered why they seemed to just materialize in the void, while he had seemed to have fallen out of the ceiling. If the place even had a ceiling. Dereth looked upwards at an expansion of purple-darkness, as far as his eyes could see.

Edward allowed the children several minutes to explore their new surroundings. Gabrielle dipped lithely to her knees in a genuflecting position, and dipped her hands in the energy beneath them. It felt like electricity pouring over her hands, but it was without the pain that often accompanied it. She felt icy coolness pouring over her skin that reminded her of the vacation her family had taken one year at the beach, and the mists that had poured through her open bedroom window in the early hours of the morning. That had smelled of the sea, this, however, did not take on any particular odor. Also, the walls and floor did not reverberate with the echoes of her footsteps, making it difficult to tell where she was in relationship with objects. If there were any objects here. _Peculiar,_ she thought.

"Children! Children! We have been successful, and in a much smaller time span then I could ever have hoped. I am very proud of you. Now, before we do the activities I had planned for today, I will explain the basics about being here, then you may ask any questions you might have. The first thing you should know about this place is that it is a _real _place, not a figment of out imaginations."

He was met with several confused faces. "I'll explain it like this. When anyone dreams, or daydreams, they create a new little world in their mind. Sometimes, they may return to a world that they had earlier created. Usually, however, they do not actually enter the world. Most humans are not adept enough at traveling the astral plane, so they just look in from the outside, as if watching a television set. But the world they created is just as real as the world we live in. However, only energy can travel the astral plane, so our bodies cannot come here. Right now, they are still in the study, as if sleeping. This brings me to the first set of rules"

He shot a quick glance at Jenny, who returned the stare with a completely innocent look, that anyone who was watching would know was a farce.

"One: never remain in the astral plane for more then a few hours. Our spirits are attached to out bodies by a supernatural umbilical cord, that tells our bodies not to shut down. And two: _Never enter the astral plane in a public place. _I cannot stress the importance of this rule. Who knows what harm would befall your body, not to mention what people might think, someone constantly falling asleep all day, and then not being able to wake them. You could wake up in the hospital, and no one would be able to explain what had happened to you. You don't know how many completely sane people have ended up in the nuthouse from similar cases."

It was apparent that everyone was thinking the same thought: what would happen to someone if their body suddenly died while they were in the astral plane? But Dr. Spear did not answer the question. Instead, he went on to the next rule.

"Rule number three: do not overexert yourselves while in the astral plane. As I have stated before, you can go into a coma, meaning you would not immediately be capable of returning to your body. You would be, quite literally, children, a living ghost. AS long as you fallow these three rules, I can guarantee you will be safe in the astral plane." His face quickly shifted from grim to giddy, and he continued. "Now that we have that out of the way, are there any questions?"

Jenny raised her hand. "So you're telling me that we are in one of your _dreams_?" She asked incredulously. The others had to agree with her, not only was it extremely creepy sounding, it was also a very laughable thought.

"Not quite. The creation of dreams is completely random and accidental, usually from bits and pieces of that person's everyday life. I carefully created this world especially for your training. This place is completely safe. In a dream, there is no telling what you might run into, especially in a nightmare."

"What would happen if our bodies were to die when we are in the astral plane?"

Dr. Spear's features took on a grave edge. "You would be dead. Of course, you wouldn't know it until you tried to re-enter your body. Right now, we are all basically ghosts."

"Ghosts exist?" This time it was Ken who asked the question. Elizabeth answered before Dr. Edward was capable of even opening his mouth.

"Come now, Ken, surely from what you've seen here- and from what you've experienced on your own, no doubt- you must realize there is more out there then what the textbooks tell us. I know you've seen it."

"They exist. Believe me, they definitely exist. I" Realizing she had said to much, Amanda cut her outburst short, leveling her eyes on the purple energy that served as the ground, as though wishing a chasm would somehow open and swallow her. She did not enjoy talking about her 'gifts'. The group politely ignored her remark; they all knew what it was like to keep secrets.

Then Angel asked why the place was so plain, without furniture or surroundings.

"Glad you asked that, Angel," Dr. Spear said, his eyes sparking incessantly from behind his half-moon spectacles. "I wanted to give _you _the honors of decorating it."

"But how? We don't have anything to decorate it with."

"You don't need to have these things to decorate a dreamscape. I want you to become accustomed to working with this type of energy, as it will strengthen your ability to use your powers in our world. Here, I'll show you."

Dr. Spear spent a few minutes showing the children how to manipulate the energy surrounding them by sculpting it into whatever shape or form they wanted to be. They could make the sky take whichever shape they desired, and they could make the air smell as sweet or as foul as they wished it.

They swiftly set to work after Elizabeth reassured them that they could change anything they did not like at any time in the future. Dereth turned the endless void above his head into a beautiful version of the nighttime sky he had seen outside of his window the night he had arrived. The stars twinkled, and one crescent moon hung precariously in the new heavens. He thought a moment, then added another moon-this one full, not crescent, and instead of the pale coloring of its brother, it was a dark, crimson red. Dereth stopped to admire his handiwork, then looked around him to see what his companions were doing.

Angel was covering the ground in what appeared to be a purple-blue grass. At first it was blurry, but the image continued to brighten, as her concentration grew stronger. Jenny and Amanda were bringing into creation exotic hybrids of plants they had seen on earth. They giggled as one formed into a green blossom with orange leaves. Ken had already finished making a swing set, the kind families sometimes built in their backyards, but better, because the swings were not held together with metal bars. No; the swings seemed to hang from the sky Dereth had earlier built. Gabrielle, unable to envision things to create them, concentrated on the other four senses the others were blatantly ignoring. She created winds that smelled of honeysuckle and roses, winds that carried hybrids of songs she remembered from earth, such as _Ode to Joy, Nocturne, Achey-Breaky-Heart, _and modern music. Everyone continued to work diligently, and the happiness in the air was palpable.

After an hour or so, the team stopped to admire the finished project. Though set in night, the air was somewhat bright, as though a flash of lightning had just struck moments before, yet the many stars in the sky were still twinkling brightly, and the moons seemed to gaze down upon them protectively. Down on the ground, there was now a bubbling brook with gorgeous plants and flowers growing on its banks. There were trees now, and though they had been brought into being in a matter of moments, they appeared to have lived many generations. Ken's swing set now had a slide, but all that was visible was the very bottom. They wondered how tall it really was.

"Now, children, what we must do now is name this place. Any suggestions?"

Dereth quickly remembered his first impression of the scape, and said, "How about the Void?"

Murmurs of agreement filled the air, and Dr. Spear said, "All right then, my boy, The Void it is."


	4. Chapter 4 Invasion of the School

Chapter Four

"Do you know what I've been thinking? We are basically just a really crappy version of the X-men. I mean, they have powers; we have powers, etc., etc. But they get a jet, and all this really awesome equipment. We have a Greyhound bus and an old private airplane. I do believe we have gotten the raw end of the deal on this one." Jenny stated matter-of-factly.

It was two weeks after they had first entered the void, at Sunday morning breakfast. Classes at the local High School were beginning the next day, and each of them had been given various school supplies. No one was very happy to be going back to school, especially Dereth, who hadn't been to school since he was nine years old.

True, he had read almost all of the books at the various shelters he had lived at, so he wasn't very concerned about reading and writing classes, but he was worried about math, even though Dr. Spear had promised to tutor him outside of school.

Gabrielle was seated beside him, her arm almost touching his. They had grown closer over the last two weeks. He hoped she couldn't feel his emotions at the moment, though it was a blind hope, even though he knew Dr. Spear had taught her several techniques to blocking the constant barrage of emotion that she had to deal with daily. Of course, it didn't matter, he was certain that she would never feel the same way about him that he did about her. He had grudgingly come to terms with his feelings for her over the last couple of days. There was no way anyone would ever like him, so he tried as much as he could to block his thoughts from her. The most he could hope for was for them to be good friends. He wouldn't even try for anything else. He wasn't stupid.

"Well, Jenny, at least we don't almost die every other day. Is that worth a hover jet to you?"

Jenny grinned sheepishly, and bent her head over her cooling hash browns. "Yeah, I guess you're right. But wouldn't it be awesome to have all of those cool gadgets? I mean, come on."

Ken leaned in. "They don't have a continuously open portal to another world they built themselves." Everyone was silent then, realizing the truth in his words. It was rather strange that their real-life was weirder then the comic-scape of fictional superheroes.

Barely anyone looked up when the maple syrup magically floated over to Dereth's outstretched hand. It had become normality for strange things to happen at the mansion, from things floating around unaided, and the light shows that seemed to fallow Angel around, all the way up to ghosts showing up to talk to Amanda. But what could you expect after rounding up a bunch of teenage psychics so they could learn their craft? Dr. Spear had warned them about such things happening.

Standing in front of the registrations office at Montgomery High the next morning, Dereth didn't need empathy to tell he was not the only student from The Institute that was nervous. Gabrielle, Angel, Ken, Jenny, and Amanda were all standing nonchalantly beside him, but he could tell from the wringing of hands and scuffing of feet that they were almost as worried as he was. With the exception of Ken, whom Dereth knew had been star quarterback at his old High School, Dereth was sure none of them had ever had too many good experiences with school. Well, the students in school, at least.

The line slowly dwindled down, and it was Dereth's turn to talk with the secretary. He handed her the paper Dr. Spear had given him that morning. He had looked over it on the bus ride over, and stopped where the parents/guardians were supposed to sign. Instead of the usual stamp declaring **ward of the state,** there was Elizabeth Nightingale's neat little signature. He wondered if it were really true, or if she had just signed there to avoid suspicion. The secretary quickly read over the paper, then printed something off of an ancient-looking computer.

"Here's your schedule." She smiled as she handed him the slip. He studied it carefully, and started to walk out the door, but Gabrielle's hand reach out and grabbed the edge of his jacket.

"See you after school," She said. He wondered at the irony of that statement, then told her goodbye and left.

He looked again at the slip of paper. He had missed Homeroom with Mrs. Willoughby, and was now supposed to be in American History with Mr. Realms. He walked down the hallway until he arrived at the appropriate door, took a deep breath, and walked in.

He showed the secretary's signature on his schedule to the ancient man at the front of the room whom he assumed was the teacher, and then took an empty seat at the back of the room. This should be interesting.

It was third period, and Jenny was in pre-science with Amanda. The two girls had naturally gravitated towards each other, and were now working on the lab the teacher had assigned.

It wasn't a real lab. Mrs. Odulga had given each of them a snack packet of M&Ms, and they were instructed to guess how many of each color were in the bag. It was a lab on probability. At the end they were permitted to eat the M&Ms.

What Mrs. Odulga had not counted on was Amanda being psychic. Giddily, she predicted that there would be six browns, four greens, four blues, two oranges and one blue. Of course, when they opened the bag, her predictions were correct. The girls laughed as though they shared a deep secret.

"What are you two? Freaks or something?" said a deep, burly voice from behind Jenny's head. She turned around. A pudgy boy with Sandy-blonde hair glared at her threateningly. His clothes were ragged, dirty, and torn in places.

Jenny began to feel angry. _No, No, not again…._ She silently moaned to herself. Then she decided to fight back with humor.

"Don't make me angry, Red. You wouldn't like me when I'm angry."

"Yeah? And what, exactly, are you going to do 'bout it?" He pushed her backwards. Not enough for her to fall, but enough so she almost lost her footing. The teacher was at the front of the room helping another student, and didn't notice the commotion going on in the back.

Suddenly, two test tubes resting on a table by the door burst open, sending a clear, translucent liquid flying two feet in any direction. The room went suddenly silent; as Mrs. Odulga left the students to go investigate.

"Nothing serious, luvvies, just a couple broken test tubes." She pointed at the puddles on the floor. "Nothing but water. I wondered why they burst, though. No one was near them."

She continued to bustle around the front of the room, and Amanda glanced at her friend from across the table. Jenny had a horrified look on her face, one of fear, like a rabbit being cornered by a coyote.

"Are you alright? What just happened?"

Jenny looked down at the floor, so all Amanda could see was the top of her fiery red hair. After a while, as though she was ashamed of something, quietly said, "I haven't lost control in months. I thought it was getting better."

Gabrielle had agreed to allow a certified student show her around the school the first day of school. The counselors had tried to convince her to accept a full-time aid, but Gabrielle had refused. She didn't need an aid. She already had half the building memorized from orientation anyway.

Now she was seriously beginning to regret the decision. This Kid- Melvin was his name- waited for her outside of _class, _regardless of whether she had already memorized the hallway or not. And that wasn't the worst of it. He treated her like she was disabled or something. Like she was retarded instead of blind.

She was sitting in advanced math, formulating a plan to ditch him, when a voice from across the aisle addressed her.

"Nice shades." It was a husky voice, female, deep and textured. It sounded like its owner smoked. Not that she needed to hear the voice to know that- the person smelled like she had rubbed her hair in an ashtray.

"Thanks." Gabrielle attempted to appear as though she was concentrating on something, though the teacher had not even begun to talk. Gabrielle doubted he was even in the room- everyone around her was shouting and goofing off.

"My name's Elvira, though everyone calls me Elf." Gabrielle wondered at the odd name, Elvira did not sound like someone who should be named Elf, but whatever works. "What's that?"

"What?"

"That black thing you're holding in your hand. Hey, is that a stun gun?" Gabrielle almost laughed out loud. She held up the tape recorder in her hand so Elf could she it. "It's a tape recorder. For taking notes."

"Are you allowed to do that?"

"Yeah. At least I am."

"Cool." The conversation ended abruptly, as the door opened in the front of the room. Feelings of intense loathing hit her, breaking through the shields Sr. Spear had taught her to put up. _Man, this must be one evil teacher. _She turned on her tape recorder.

"Good morning, children. Welcome to Advanced Mathematics." His voice was oily, and sounded slightly hissy, like a snake might sound if it suddenly sprouted vocal chords. He breathed in, his breath resounding in his throat like winds through an immolated field.

"Being in the advanced group, I expect you to have an, er, _higher _caliber of work ethics then the normal math group. Do you understand?" There was a brief moment of murmurs and 'uh-huhs'. "Good. You will not be given homework this evening, but I suggest not getting used to it. You will all be assigned bookwork almost daily. Anyone who fails to complete the days assigned work will not be allowed into the classroom until it is finished."

He paused, and then began walking over to Gabrielle. She heard his footsteps approaching with growing unease. While most people's steps sounded like a 'clap-clap' noise, His footsteps made a definite, almost guttural, _thunk, _one syllable for each step. The noise grew closer until he was standing directly in front of Gabrielle's desk. She waited.

Finally, he spoke. "My dear," He said with a fake, oily sweetness, "Wherever are your notes and books? And" He took the tape recorder from her fingers, "What is this? Radios are not allowed on school property. Neither," - she could feel his enthusiastic glee growing inside of him- "Are sunglasses." He reached out and pulled off her glasses.

She felt his pleasure at making such a kill turn to horror as he saw her eyes. He slammed her shades and tape recorder down on her desk, and stalked back up to the front of the room.

At the end of the class, Elf walked up to her. "Girl, you _shut him down!_ Props." Gabrielle smiled at the girls praise, and decided she liked her, even if she did smell like smoke.

"Thank-You." She took out her cane and began walking towards the door, using the noisy chatter as a guide. She began wondering if the school would allow her to bring Seth into the building. She wanted him more for comfort then actual need.

"So, listen," said Elf. " What class do you have next?"

"American History, Realms." She had the entire schedule memorized, as for the layout of all the hallways where her classes were located.

"Really? Me, too! We should sit next to each other."

Gabrielle thought for a moment. "OK, but first I have to take care of a little pest problem."

She walked to the doorway. Sure enough, she could hear Melvin's signature heavy breath, and smell the slight essence of anchovies that seemed to fallow him around. "Ready to go to your next class?" His voice was whiny, and its pitch was high. She disliked anyone who had such a voice.

"Listen, Melvin, you and I both know that you're doing this so it will show up on your transcript. Let's say we both go our separate ways, and I tell the office that you did your duty." When she felt him hesitate, she moved in with the big guns. "Or I can tell them that you left a poor, defenseless blind girl in the hallway without an escort. It's your choice." She walked over to where she had left Elf, and they began walking to American History. She was satisfied Melvin wouldn't open his mouth. He was too scared about his perfect record.

At lunch, Gabrielle and Elf were still hanging around together. Gabrielle soon learned that Elf was in an emo-punk band. She chatted happily away about the bands fruitless search for a bassist.

"The mansion has basses," Gabrielle put in thoughtlessly as she reached deftly for an apple off of the lunch line. Elf thoughtlessly picked one up and put it in her hand, but Gabrielle found she didn't mind. Elf was helping her because she was a friend, not because she was blind. She could feel it.

"Really? Have you ever considered playing? Maybe you could be in our band."

Gabrielle had always steered clear of musical instruments, afraid of breeching the cliché set up by artists such as Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder. She really didn't like the whole blind musician thing. However, she liked this new idea.

"Maybe I'll teach myself how to play," she said.

"Awww that would be so cool!"

They paid for the food, then set out in the cafeteria in search of a place to sit. Gabrielle heard a blind chatter that was distinctly familiar. She pulled Elf over to where Jenny and Amanda were sitting.

"Hey, Gabrielle."

"Hello. This is Elf."

Jenny and Amanda eyed the girl Gabrielle had brought with her. She was clad all in black, with mesh fabric on her arms. Her hair was the color of a young raven's wing-but without the shiny blue-ness that would have cued it as her natural color- and her eyes were smeared with black makeup. A silver ring glinted from her eyebrow.

"Hey," said Jenny uncertainly.

Amanda quickly directed a thought at Gabrielle. It was a new concept that Dr. Spear had begun teaching the telepaths a couple days before, and she decided this was the perfect time to test it out.

_Gabrielle, can you hear me?_

_Yes. _The message was garbled and slow, but they were communicating none-the-less. She wondered if her thoughts sounded the same from Gabrielle's side of the conversation.

_A Goth? You brought a Goth to the table? _

_What is a Goth? _

_Oh, never mind._

Frustrated, she ended the conversation. Of course Gabrielle couldn't know what a Goth was. But wouldn't she have known after talking to her?

_She's just a person, Amanda. The same as you or me._

Amanda wondered whether she had broadcast her thoughts, or if Gabrielle had read her mind. Maybe she just knew, somehow.

Elf was busy giving Jenny hair tips. "If we dyed part of your hair a crimson red, it would look so totally awesome."

"You really think so?" Said Jenny, fingering her strawberry curls. Amanda knew she was very sensitive about her red hair.

"Of course."

Amanda decided she wasn't so bad. Anyway, she wasn't sacrificing them to Satan yet, and that had to mean something.

Dereth sat down at the table, on the side of Gabrielle that wasn't currently occupied by Elf. Dereth looked at the new girl inquisitively, shrugged his shoulders, and began to eat.

"Any chance that Ken or Angel might show up?" asked Gabrielle.

"Wouldn't count on Ken. I saw him sitting next to the Jocks a few minutes ago. Oh, well. It was to be expected." Dereth sighed.

"So what about Angel?"

"Haven't seen her all day."

"Hmm."

As they ate lunch, they told Elf about living at the mansion- sans all of the paranormal psychic stuff. Elizabeth and Dr. Spear had told them not to tell anyone the real reason they were at Red Rose. Instead, they stuck with the story Edward had given them: They were at the institute under academic scholarships. They hoped no one would realize that not all of them were in advanced classes.

Elf didn't seem to think anything of it. "You mean you live in a mansion? Without your parents? Awesome! Where do I sign up?"

"So, children, how was your first day of school?"

The daily session in the astral plane had ended. Dereth sat up in his armchair- the mattresses on the floor had been replaced as soon as everyone had gotten the hang of shifting- and rubbed his back. He still hadn't gotten used the falling sensation that procured in his abdomen whenever they re-entered the physical plane, a sensation that reminded him unpleasantly of roller coasters.

Everyone remained quiet for a few moments, deciding what information to tell. Gabrielle decided not to share her abandonment of Melvin. Though the students might find it entertaining, she was certain that Dr. Spear and Elizabeth would not. She wondered, briefly, if Dr. Spear would ever use his powers to read their minds. She shivered at the thought, and pushed it away.

"I met some of the guys on the football team today," said Ken. "Tryouts are next week."

"Splendid, splendid!" Edward cried. Everyone else rolled their eyes and snorted. "Anyone else?"

"I met a girl today. Her name's Elf. Apparently, she's a Goth." She allowed her statement to sink in for a moment, then said, "She wants me to join her band."

"Really?" Elizabeth sounded amused. "What kind of band is it, and what would you be playing?"

"Um, it's an emo band, and I would be playing the bass. There are basses here, right?" She hoped that they wouldn't make too much of a deal out of it.

Thankfully, they didn't. " Mmm-hmmm. Use whatever you need, dear. Make sure you tell us when and where band practice will be. Alright."

"Alright."

Gabrielle settled back down into her chair, and wondered if she would actually join the band. It was not her missing sight that kept her from joining groups and organizations, but her wariness of unknown people.

After a few moments of contemplation, she decided to sleep on it, and returned her attention to the group.

"Jenny, may we talk to you for a moment?" The rest of the students had already vacated the classroom, leaving Jenny alone with Elizabeth and Dr. Spear. Jenny raised her eyes to meet Elizabeth's, and nodded her head languidly. She wondered what they wanted. She wondered if they knew about the accident with the science vials.

Precariously, Elizabeth walked over so she was standing directly beside the girl, moving in much the same way one might move when in the presence of a frightened puppy, and placed a cool, soothing hand on her back.

"Are you feeling all right, dear? You've barely spoken a word all night, and haven't uttered so much as one mordacious comment." She hoped to bring a smile to Jenny's lips, but they remained in a distinguished moue. "I'm beginning to miss it."

"I'm fine, really." Jenny had considered telling the truth, but faltered when she thought of the humiliation that such a confession would bring. Nobody else had lost control over their powers, at least not to her knowledge, and she would not be the first to admit such a failure.

Jenny rose to leave. The look on Elizabeth's face held so much concern that the words that would reveal her secret formed on the tip of her tongue, but she pressed her lips together tightly, holding them in. _It only happened once, _She told herself. _If it happens again, then I'll tell them. _

"Remember, we're here if you need us," called Dr. Spears voice just as she stepped through the gargantuan door. "I know," She replied softly, and fled the room.


	5. Chapter 5 Parent Day

Chapter Five

"This is Ricky- he plays lead guitar, and writes most of the songs. Janice and Kenny are over there- second guitar and drums- and Leo plays the keyboard, and does all the special effects."

Gabrielle listened as each person greeted her, subconsciously memorizing the slight differences in their voices. Janice and Leo were easy- their voices were both high-pitched and whiny, but the others voices were low and soft- but Ricky seemed to talk strongly, while Kenny soughed in a barely-audible whisper.

They were in a basement. Though the room was finished- there was carpeting on the floor- the space was musty, and it reeked of mildew. The couch emitted a slight odor, and sagged underneath her, submitting to her weight and succumbing to its own age. The dust in the air tickled and irritated her nose.

Gabrielle unzipped the large, heavy case at her feet. There had been several basses in the music room at the mansion, but she had chosen this one because of its unique shape- while the other ones flared out at either the top or the bottom, the body of this bass was in the shape of a rectangle. Dr. Spear had said it was called a 'Spirit Bass.' Whatever that meant. She plugged it into the amp where Elf had indicated, pulled the strap over her head, and waited.

She felt someone scrutinizing her. "Awesome bass." Ricky consented. She nodded her head to acknowledge his allowance, feeling she had earned some sort of honor.

"We're going to start out with the easiest song, _Field of Broken Dreams_." Gabrielle listened intently as Ricky played the bass-line on his guitar, Her fingers diligently mapping out the various shifts and motions of the song. She discovered she liked the lilting, yet momentous beat of the song. She could get used to doing this.

"Alright, let's start playing."

"Are you sure?" Janice sounded surprised. "You've only heard it once."

Elf snorted. "Believe me, she has it memorized." Gabrielle heard Janice shrug, and Kenny's drum sticks clicked together.

The guitars started playing, and Gabrielle fallowed their lead. While they were playing doubled notes, her part kept the beat along with the drums. Elf started singing a haunted, mournful tune. Satisfied that she could continue to play the bass easily, she began listening to the guitar parts, the way they mingled and swept upwards, and marveled at how they sounded so perfect together, so right. And the bass-line joined together with them perfectly, giving the song depth and feeling. It was a euphoria Gabrielle had never experienced before- being a part of something.

All too soon, the song was over. The last notes, caught in the sound boards of the instruments, echoed and slowly faded away, but Gabrielle could hear the song, pulsing in her veins, and pounding against her skull, trying to break free. The euphoria was gone though- all that was left was a slight memory, and the longing to hear the song and again be part of the music.

She became distracted by someone moving towards her. Ricky took her hand in a business-like shake. "Welcome to the band."

"Thanks. Um, can we do that again, please?" His laugh was deep and short as he moved to his guitar and strapped it over his shoulder.

It was midnight, and Gabrielle sat in the corner of the music room, thinking again about the band meeting and the music. Her bass rested in her lap, where she felt it belonged. Her fingers silently moved over the patterns on the fret-board, bringing her a slight ghost of what she had felt earlier.

Most people would say the reason she felt so connected to the music was that she was blind. But she knew the other's had felt the same way that she had- though they had played the song many times, they still marveled at the way everything fit perfectly together, at how they were finally apart of something. She realized the feeling never dimmed- nor did the need for it. Music was the most addictive drug, one taste, and you're hooked forever. She knew she had to join the band now.

"Hey, there."

"Dereth? It is very late." Dereth rolled his eyes. _Well, duh. Don't state the obvious._

"I know. I wanted to hear how your meeting with the Phisheads went."

The exasperation in Gabrielle's voice was point and almost tangible. "They're not 'Phisheads' Dereth. And it went very well. I'm going to join."

Dereth's heart sank. He had hoped she would decide to not join the band. The concept that she might be apart of something that he could never join made him very sad, because it made her even more unattainable then before, sealing their separation with a searing crimson wax.

But she seemed so happy now, where before she was simply morose beyond reason. How could he fight such happiness, just because he had not brought it to her himself?

"I'm glad you had a good time." He almost added _that it made you happy, _but decided that would be too much. He began walking towards the large double-doors.

"Dereth?"

He turned, hopefully, in time to see Gabrielle shake her head. "Never mind." He nodded once, though he knew she could not see it, and stalked away.

Gabrielle inhaled the cool, early-Autumn air. It was the second Saturday of September, and, unfortunately, the day that Dr. Spear had picked for the mansions very first Parent day. She felt that such a nice day was being wasted on such a mood-shattering topic, and wished that it had been stormy, a setting far more suitable.

She could hear the other students in the sitting room-she was still waiting in a wing for her parents to arrive- happily away with their parents, taking care not to talk about anything psychic, as Dr. Spear had warned them the night before that some of the parents –Gabrielle's and Ken's- did not realize that this was a prep school designed especially for the needs of psychics.

Of course Dr. Spear and Elizabeth had more then hinted that this would be a choice time to reveal Gabrielle's secret to them, but Gabrielle had adamantly refused. She knew that her Mother would find some way of turning Gabrielle's gift into a disability, to force her to act completely dependant.

A long series of elaborate chimes rang in through the halls, signaling that someone was at the door, mingling with the sounds of Elizabeth going to answer it.

_Ah, _thought Gabrielle. _Here's the witch now. _

"Sorry we're late. I had set up an appointment at the hair salon this morning, and the girls were running behind. You know how these things are." Her voice, as always, was thick, bored, and drawling; practically dripping with feigned interest.

"How do you do?" Gabrielle's father's voice was, as ever, oddly high-pitched and coy. It was no secret that his wife had married because of his money- He knew it, she knew it, everyone knew it. Unlike her mother, Gabrielle's father knew perfectly well that Gabrielle was far from helpless- fat lot of good it did her, though. He wouldn't stand up to his gold-digger wife for anything.

A quick intake of breath indicated that Gabrielle's position was no longer hidden. She had been spotted. She heard the sharp reverberation of neck-breaking high heals hitting the solid oak floor, and prepared herself for the incoming.

"Gabrielle, baby! Have they just left you here? And where's Seth? Oh, I knew it was a terrible idea to send you here."

Gabrielle knew it was no use to try to argue with her. Instead, she tried to tell her mother that the rest of the families were in the sitting room visiting with Dr. Spear and Elizabeth, but with a sniff, and a muttering sounding suspiciously like "peons", She insisted that they would rather talk to her in private.

All the way up to Gabrielle's dorm room, her mother insisted upon holding her hand and doting upon her- "Don't run into the suit of armor, dear"- failing to realize that Gabrielle managed to lead them up to her room without walking into a wall.

She stopped in front of her room, pausing to pull her key from her pocket.

"What is it dear? Why have we stopped?"

"Stop worrying, would you, mother? This is my room."

Gabrielle paused as she heard Dereth approaching from down the hall. She felt a strong feeling of safety when she knew that he would be only one room down from her. She would not be completely alone with her parents.

She felt a slight shock as her parents acknowledged Dereth's presence. She imagined the dismayed look that must have been displayed on there faces along with a slight smirk from Dereth as he realized what trouble he was causing.

The lock clicked as she turned her key, and the door opened with an ominous creak. She walked into the room; not bothering to turn on the lights, even though she knew her parents needed them. She wanted to emphasize that her blindness gave her certain advantages over the seeing.

"Gabrielle? Where is the light switch?"

"Oh, sorry, Dad. I've forgotten. I don't need light, you know." She was sure not to let to much sarcasm show in her voice. She reached out her hand until it met with a long, thin chord hanging directly over her nightstand, and pulled. "Is it on?"

"Yes, thank you."

She heard her mother searching through the things on her dresser. She resisted a strong urge to yell. Why did she think she had such a right to go through her stuff? "mom, please don't move my things. I have it all in a special order so I know where it is."

"Oh, right." Gabrielle wondered if her mother would ever move things on purpose, just so she could help Gabrielle find them later. She wouldn't put anything past her. Already, she could feel her mother's 'need to be needed' feelings seeping through her bones, wearing her down. This was the reason she had left home for the mansion in the first place, to get away from that.

Gabrielle could imagine her mother's glee when the doctors told her that Gabrielle would be blind. She liked to imagine that her mother had begun to realize what a wasted life she had led, and had clamped onto the first thing that would give her life meaning. _Well, I'm sorry, Mother, but I refuse to be the driving purpose of your life._

For at least a half an hour, Gabrielle tuned out her mother's droning's about people at the country club, thinking longingly about the new book that had arrived in the mail the other day, until something her mother said brought her out of her stupor. "What did you say?"

"I said that we are going to take you home today. Your father and I realize that you must be having a terrible time here, but are just too stubborn to admit it. Isn't it wonderful?"

Gabrielle gathered the bedspread in her clenched fists. No, this could not happen!

"No! I'm not going back!"

"Dear, it's ok, I'm going to take care, of you, just like old times. Remember…"

"I don't want you to take care of me. I'm happy here, I'm not going back with you!" The emotion in her voice revealed her fear. They couldn't take her back, not now, not when things had been going so well…

"It's not open for discussion. I'm your mother, you'll do as I say." Where before she had spoken as though to a child, Mrs. Thompson's voice was now stern. She would not give up so easily.

"Dad?" Gabrielle pleaded. She knew it was of little use, but maybe if she could get him on her side….

He hesitated momentarily. He was torn between making his little girl unhappy and angering his wife. Inevitably, he was more cautious of angering his wife.

"Listen to your mother," his voice was quiet, almost regretting.

"You see? Even your father agrees that you need…"

Gabrielle exploded. " I do not need you! I have never needed you, and I am not going back with you!" She stood up and ran from them, heading for the sitting room. At the top of the grand staircase, she collided heavily with Dereth.

"What's the matter?" He bent down to collect her sunglasses, and looked up at her face. Her eyes, cloudy as ever, were red and shining. "Are you crying? Whatever they've said, remember, they'll only be here for a few more…"

"They're trying to take me away!" She moved quickly away from his stupefied frame, not even bothering to take back her glasses. He stood there, frozen by shock, and then began to fallow her down the stairs into the sitting room.

Dr. Spear was standing in the middle, obviously through with telling either a good joke or a hilarious story, as all the people around him were laughing openly. Dereth felt an immediate pang of jealousy, remembering his own mother, but quickly pushed the thought out of his mind. There were bigger issues at hand.

Everyone in the room turned as Gabrielle shot through the doorway in the direction of Dr. Spear's voice, Heavy sobs now freely escaping from her chest unchecked. She didn't seem to realize that everyone else was also in the room. Her classmates watched her, as though they were in shock- this was the girl who never allowed emotion to get the better of her, the one who never lost control.

"They're going to take me back home." Elizabeth hugged her firmly, whispering word of comfort, and Dr. Spear walked slowly over to Gabrielle. He put an arm around her heaving shoulder. He spoke softly in Elizabeth's ear, nodded, and led Gabrielle out of the room.

Dereth turned his attention to Elizabeth, curious as to what she would tell the others. "Well, then," She said uncertainly.

Edward Spear slowly ascended the West wing staircase in the direction of Gabrielle's room. He had left the sobbing girl in a spare bedroom on the bottom floor with Dereth after assuring her that he would get the whole thing straightened out.

Upon reaching the top of the staircase, Edward leaned against the banister and listened to the voices carrying from the room- it was not difficult, these people either didn't know or didn't care that others could hear them.

"I don't care if she doesn't want to go, Harold! She is my daughter, she'll do as I-"

"But Pooky-" Edwad began walking towards the room, suddenly dreading the iminent encounter.

"Don't you 'Pooky' me. I know you've always been her favorite, undermining my authority and going behind my back, giving her what she wanted, when clearly it was for the worst. You know as well as I do that she can't live on her-"

"Ma'am, I would sincerely beg to differ." Edward had rounded the corner into the room, bringing into view the owners of the voices.

One was a roundish women wearing a revealing mini-dress that was clearly too young for her. Her hair was a platinum-blonde color that was betrayed by mousy-brown roots, pulled into a playful bob, and her face was covered in Mounds of pancake make-up that still revealed the wrinkles and frown-lines that formed miniscule roads and highways all across her face. He noticed her wedding ring was also quite large.

The other was a short, thin man in a navy business suit. tiny spectacles adorned his weary face, and he seemed to almost tremble in his armani. He reminded Edward of a fearful mouse, and his wife was undoubtedly the cat.

The womens face worked itself into an easy sneer. "Yeah? and what do you know about it?"

_Seemingly, a great deal more then you,_but Edward let his thoughts remain unheard. Instead, he asked them to kindly step into his office on the first floor. Thankfully, they both remained quiet on the way down, giving him a chance to probe their personalities, and try to discover the best way for him to convince them to let Gabrielle stay at the mansion.

Of course, he was almost positive that if they knew what gifts Gabrielle had, that they would wish her to stay and cultivate them. but he wanted Gabrielle to tell them on her own. If she couldn't tell her own parents, how would she be capable to accept them herself?

He decided it would be more useful to probe the women first, for it seemed she definately wore the pants in the relationship. The man didn't seem to have a problem with letting Gabrielle stay at the mansion, and even if he did, Edward was sure he would have been able to sway him. Already, he knew the man was not strong of character.

Edward sat down in the comfy computer chair behind his desk. He motioned towards two seats across from his, but Mrs. Thompson vigorously shook her head-having made getting her way a sort of an artform, she was as determined as possible to make Edward feel uncomfortable, and the man would not take a risk as to defy his wife so boldly.

Edward had learned much about Mrs. Thompson during the short walk from Gabrielle's room to his office, significanlty increasing his already lengthly list of reasons to dislike her. She was a gold-digger at the simplest meaning of the word: She had no love for her husband, she married him simply upon his wealth. In fact, the man had attempted to court her in college, but being the snide women she was, she denied him- until he struck gold in the stock markets. What was worse then that, however, was that her need to be needed was so great, she used Gabrielle to make herself feel important, though suffocating the girl, pretending that Gabrielle needed her, therefore giving meaning to her own pathetic life. Despicable.

But it did give him an idea of how to have her allow Gabrielle to stay at the school.

"Gabrielle tells me that you are going to take her home today."

"That's right. just as soon as we can pack her things." She did not try to hide the smugness in her voice. She said it as though she had triumphed over something.

"Why?"

"Well, she needs me." She emphasized the word 'needs', as if it were painfully obvious, and she was just playing some sort of game.

"I'm sorry, madame, but I beg to differ." He almost laughed. The look on her face clearly stated that she was not used to being contradicted. People had always put up little, if any resistance to any of her demands. She looked thrown off for a moment, before saying, with fake politeness, " Oh? how so?"

"Gabrielle has lived at the mansion for a little over a month now. We have taken fieldtrips into the city, and has even joined a musical band, all with almost no assitance from anyone else. I think that has earned her the right to stay here- not that she should need to earn the right. If anything, I think she is far more capable then the rest of us. and besides," He added as an afterthought, "She has Seth."

"Is a dog supposed to replace someone's mother? She always depended on me before. Am I supposed to believe that she can suddenly take care of herself now?" Her frustration became more and more apparent, punctuated by each silabyl. Edward could smell a tantrum coming on.

"It seems to me-and we all do respect- that you have tricked yourself into believing that Gabrielle needs you, to make yourself feel needed-"

"How dare you! I think I know my daughter better then-"

"It appears not, madame. I think it is you who cannot get along without her."

"Howard! are you going to sit back and let him talk to me like that?" Her voice was whiny, and her face was contorting into a look that reminded Edward of a five-year-old who didn't get a chocolate bar at the grocery store. As she spoke to him, Howards face took on a look of fear. He glanced back and forth between Edward and his wife, but remained silent. Edward was enjoying this.

"Madam, if you really love your daughter, you would allow her to have this experience. come on," only slightly goading," prove me wrong."

She looked at him warily, then grabbed her husbands wrist. "We're leaving." and walked briskly out the door.

Edward was not worried about them taking Gabrielle away. He knew Mrs. Thompson would not prove him right. He thought, for a moment, about advising her to look into public charity, but dismissed the idea, thinking it would be too much.

After a few minutes, Gabrielle walked into the office, closely fallowed by Seth. He could not see if her eyes were still puffy, as she had replaced her sunglasses. "Are they gone?" She asked cautiously.

"Yes."

She groped her way into one of the chairs. Seth balanced his head lightly on her knee as she stroked his ears. "I hate her. Why does she have to do this?"

"Ahh, Gabrielle, I know sometimes people can be a bit trying, but you should never hate them. Pity them. Her life has so little value-or at least she thinks it does- that she has to use you as her reason to be. Sympathy is all that we can rightly give those without confidence."

Gabrielle sat for a moment and considered the depth of what Dr. Spear had said. Pity? for her mother? She didn't know if she could do that. but then she thought of how terrible it must be to feel that you were worth nothing. She stood and left.

Dereth heard Gabrielle's parents walking towards the front door. How could anyone treat Gabrielle this way? He was filled with a searing anger. He watched as the women reached for her jacket while yelling at her husband, and had a terrific idea.

"Howard, I don't understand how you could just sit back and let that terrible man talk to me like that! I mean, grow some balls, why don't-" She stopped and looked at the coat-rack. She was certain that it had been a few feet towards the left of where it was now. She reached for her coat again. The coatrack moved! "Howard!" She squeaked.He looked, taken aback at the change in the tone of her voice. She reached for her jacket again- and the coat rack again changed position.

"I watched something on the discovery channel about this- this place must have a poltergeist!" His voice was almost as high and squeaky as his wife's.

"Oh, howard," She said, trying to sound confident, "There's no such thing as-" The chandelier above their heads began to shake and vibrate. Forgetting their jackets, they both ran out the large oak doors.


End file.
